Seeley Booth strolled into Temperance Brennan's office. She was his partner, his best friend. He felt obliged to tell her that he was going to ask Hannah Burley, his girlfriend, to marry him.
"Good Morning Bones!" He chimed.
"Hello Booth." Temperance replied. "I'm rather busy, so make what you need to tell me quick."
Seeley was taken aback by Temperance's tone. She'd never spoken to him like that before. It was like she was angry at him. What had he done to her to make her so angry?
Seeley inhaled deeply, preparing himself for what could come. "I'm going to ask Hannah to marry me. I thought you should know, being my partner and all."
Temperance had continued to write while she listened to what Seeley had to say. When she heard and had processed what he had said, she involuntarily dropped her pen with a gasp. Almost immediately, she felt like crying. Just two years ago, Seeley had told her that he loved her. How could he move on with the click of his fingers?
"Get out!" Temperance shouted. "Get out of my office!"
Wounded, and shocked, Seeley almost bolted out the door. Racing downstairs, he almost knocked Angela over.
"Hello Booth!" Angela exclaimed. "What's the hurry?"
"It's nothing." Seeley said. "Sorry about running into you."
Angela knew something was wrong. She knew that her best friend was upstairs in her office, and she'd never seen Seeley running from Temperance. Climbing the stairs on her way to find out what had happened; Temperance's office window shattered and through it came a frame with a photo of her and Seeley in it. Yes, something was wrong. Something was very wrong.
"Sweetie, are you okay?" Angela asked quietly, entering Temperance's office cautiously.
"I don't want to talk to anybody right now Angela." Temperance stated. "Please leave."
Angela sighed. "Why did you throw the frame with the photo of you and Booth in it at your window?"
"I said I didn't want to talk about it!" Temperance snapped. "Don't make me get security to drag you out of here."
Shocked, Angela quickly left. She raced down to tell Cam, Hodgins and Wendell not to go into the office.
Later that day, Seeley found himself sitting in his office at the F.B.I building. He was tossing a small, red, velvet box from one palm to the other. Suddenly, his office door opened. When he saw who it was, he knew he was in for one hell of a lecture.
"Seeley Booth!" Angela practically screamed at him.
"Angela, I didn't mean…" Seeley began to explain.
"What did you do to my best friend?" She growled. "She's even angry at me!"
Seeley sighed. "I told her I was going to propose to Hannah."
Angela's eyes flew open instantly. Seeley could almost feel the anger being released, heading straight for his face.
"What did you just say?" Angela growled.
"I said…" Seeley began again, even though he knew she'd heard him.
"I heard what you said you idiot!" She shouted. "What the hell were you thinking? If you were going to propose to her, why didn't you just do it?"
"I wanted Bones' opinion." Seeley explained. "She's my partner, and I love her."
Angela gasped, making Seeley realise what he had just said. He had admitted to someone else other than Bones that he loved her. Maybe it was meant to be.
"If you love her Booth, then you shouldn't propose to Hannah." Angela stated. "You've known Brennan for a lot longer than Hannah, and there are other guys out there for Hannah. Brennan will never find anybody else. If you chuck Brennan out on the street like she's a piece of trash, she'll build her walls up so strong; you'll never knock them down again. Think about it Booth."
Suddenly, Angela's phone began ringing. Glancing at the caller ID, she noticed it was Hodgins.
"I have to take this Booth. Give me a second."
Seeley nodded as Angela answered the phone. In seconds, the entire colour had drained from her face. Seeley suddenly felt like somebody had stabbed him in the chest. He instantly knew something had happened to Temperance.
"We'll meet you there." Angela concluded, flipping her phone shut.
Before she could even say anything, Seeley had grabbed his coat and his keys.
"Where is she?" He asked.
"She left a note saying that 'If you're reading this, I'm already gone. You'll find me on the rocks at the bottom of Pearl Beach.' We have to get out there Booth!"
Seeley nodded in agreement. "Let's go!"
Pulling up at the edge of the bush that lead through to the top of the cliff, Seeley and Angela noted that Hodgins car was already parked there. Jumping out, they raced through the bush. Angela, being heavily pregnant couldn't run too well, but without thought of leaving her to catch up, Seeley raced through the bush as fast as his legs would take him.
"Where is she?" He gasped, finally reaching Hodgins.
Hodgins shook his head in despair. "She's not here G-Man. I don't know where else she'd be."
"I know where she is!" Seeley replied. "What time is it?"
Confused, Hodgins glanced at his watch just as Angela arrived, sweaty and out of breath. "It's two o'clock. Why?"
"Shit!" Seeley exclaimed. "Before I left for Afghanistan, I took Bones under this cliff and through a tunnel over to the other side of the beach." He explained, directing his finger to where he meant. "I found her a pearl to keep while I was away. It was like the ring I couldn't give her. She's down there. She has to be!"
"What's the time got to do with anything?" Angela asked, just as confused as Hodgins was.
"The tide comes in at one o'clock. That place floods."
"We have to get down there!" Angela screamed.
"It'll take at least half an hour to get to the other side of the beach if we drive." Hodgins noted. "If we get down to this side of the beach and take the tunnel, it'll take longer."
"Let's take the first option." Angela decided.
Seeley shook his head. "We can't. There's no way of getting beneath the cliff on that side."
Hodgins decided to rationalise the situation. "Okay, stop!" He exclaimed.
Both Angela and Seeley stared at him, waiting for him to continue.
"It'll take us half an hour to get to the other side of the beach. It'll take us fifteen minutes minimum to get down the bottom if we have to climb."
"That's dangerous!" Angela interrupted. "We're not doing that."
Hodgins nodded, and continued. "It'll take us fifteen minutes to get to the bottom of this side of the beach, but it'll take us another half an hour to get through the tunnel, which could flood at any point."
Seeley inhaled a shaky breath. "Let's go from the other side. It'll be safer to climb over a cliff face if we can get some safety gear than if a wave hits us trying to get through the tunnel."
Forty-five minutes later, Seeley was strapping himself up with a harness that the rescue team had brought over. With a lot of breaking of laws and a lot of protesting, Seeley had been allowed to climb down.
"Good luck man!" Hodgins enthused as Seeley slowly began emerging down the cliff face.
"Please find her." Angela begged. "She's my best friend. I can't lose her."
As Seeley took the first jump down the cliff face, Hodgins pulled Angela into a hug. This kind of stress wasn't good for the baby. He hoped that Seeley would find her, and soon.
Twenty minutes later, Hodgins and Angela and the rescue team saw Seeley wave, signalling that he'd reached the bottom of the cliff.
"Are you here Bones?" Seeley called. His voice echoed through the small cave-like structure. He received no reply, so he called again.
"Bones, please answer me!" There was still no reply.
Seeley continued to make his way into the cave. The water was now up to his knees. As he thrashed through it, he made a silent prayer that Temperance was still alive. He didn't know how he'd go on if she wasn't. It was his fault that she was here. Suddenly, he heard what he thought was only a faint call from on top of the cliff. It sounded like Angela and Hodgins, and their voices were frantic. Racing back out, he saw them pointing. Standing on the edge of the cliff on the other side of the beach, was Temperance Brennan. She was going to jump.
"Shit!" Seeley cursed. Unclipping the harness from his belt, he took off back into the cave.
He heard Angela and Hodgins screaming for him to stop and the rescue team yelling that he couldn't climb without a harness. Ignoring their protests, Seeley raced through the tunnel as fast as he could.
When he reached the other side, he leapt onto the cliff side like a lion. Frantically climbing, slipping back now and again, he made progress. After half an hour, he reached the top of the cliff face. Temperance had obviously not seen him or Angela, Hodgins and the rescue team, because she was still there.
"God Bones, what do you think you're doing?" He asked frantically.
Jumping slightly, Temperance actually replied. "I'm going to commit suicide."
Seeley chuckled. "You're definitely Temperance Brennan; always straight to the point. I'm not going to let you commit suicide Bones. You mean too much to me."
"You should've thought about that before you proposed to Hannah." Temperance replied coldly.
"I didn't propose to Hannah. After your reaction, I couldn't bring myself to do it. Besides, Angela came to see me and I told her I loved you. It slipped out. I guess we're meant to be."
Those six words, 'I guess we're meant to be' lingered on Temperance's mind, forcing her to turn and face Seeley.
"You said that?" She asked, tearing up.
Seeley nodded. "I love you Bones. Please, give me your hand. Don't do this."
That was all the encouragement she needed. At that moment, Temperance Brennan did not just give the love of her life, Seeley Booth her hand. She leapt at him, crashing her lips against his. When they came up for air, Seeley whispered.
"I love you Bones."
"I love you too Booth." Temperance replied. "I guess we're meant to be."
From the other side of the beach, Angela, Hodgins and the entire rescue team had seen what happened and were clapping and cheering for the new couple.
"I want to kiss you again." Temperance stated.
"You can kiss me as many times as you like." Seeley replied.
And with that reply, the pair kissed again. This time it was softer. It was passionate. It was true, they were meant to be.